Overspeeding heavy vehicles won’t be reined in. Unfit vehicles will not be taken off the roads. Licensing and policing will not be tightened. Lane discipline and adherence to traffic rules will not be ensured. Road humps won’t be removed, potholes will not be filled. Traffic impediments won’t be cleared. Alcholics anonymously drinking and killing won’t be pulled aside. But….

But the Kerala High Court wants to prohibit women in sarees from riding pillion on two-wheelers.

A division bench has pointed out that women wearing sarees cannot sit comfortably astride on the rear seat of scooters and motorcycles. Since they sit on one side, with legs projecting outwards, this leads to head injuries in the case of accidents, while negotiating potholes or sharp curves. Therefore, says the court, the rules can be amended “in the public interest”.

Questions: Is a ban on women wearing sarees riding pillion feasible? Practical? Should such a change be brought into the motor vehicles act? Should two-wheeler makers consider design changes to accommodate the safety concerns of saree-clad women? Or should women wearing sarees riding pilliong compulsorily wear helmets? Will this result in the death of the saree? And, yes, what about women in burqas?